Ah, Valentine's Day. A day of flowers, candy, and tiny little cards with cheesy love puns professing our love and longings. A day when perhaps Cupid will sneak up behind you and shoot you with his arrow filling you with passionate desire. Good luck with that!

Now hold on while I make a hard pivot from romance to purposeful passion. Otherwise, this newsletter could take a turn that will get me in trouble with HR.

Recently, I've had several conversations with people about their futures and pursuing their "professional passions." So many people struggle to express what that passion is or aren't quite sure how to pursue it.

In describing where passion comes from, author Simon Sinek says, "You can't DO what you're passionate about. You find something you believe in, and what you will experience is passion."

So the trick is finding something you believe in. For most people, that belief or vision isn't hard-wired. Most of us don't wake up and think, "Wait a second, I have a vision for X. I shall go and make it so!" Some people do. Martin Luther King had a vision. John F. Kennedy. Elon Musk. Oprah Winfrey. Jane Goodall. Maybe you.

But if not, follow leaders, read books, watch Ted Talks, "be in life," and when something resonates with you, adopt that. Take it upon yourself to use your talents to advance that vision. That will then become your passion. Essentially, your own personal Cupid shooting you a dose of passion right in the bum.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Leadership and Learning